The Smaller Picture
by o0evo0o
Summary: Everyone has their own story to tell. Some of the tales go unnoticed as you rush along with your own life, and others, their creators just never bothered to tell... OneShot collection
1. Undying Hatred

_Hey out there. Some people out there might recognize these first four chapters, as I have the (Unedited) versions posted under 'MiraiEvo'. Sadly (or maybe just pathetically), I forgot the passwords to both my account and my e-mail. Sad, no? So anyway, I've edited them and am reposting them now under a new sn. I do plan on writing more of them, and have a few ideas as I write this…enjoy, I guess._

BTW-I don't own Golden Sun.

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**The Smaller Picture**

**Undying Hatred**

_**Chapter I of -**_

It was a beautiful day in the misty land of Lemuria. Of course, everyday in Lemuria was beautiful, so the inhabitants had come to expect such. Lemurians were beginning to rise and get about with their daily chores as they would on any other normal day.

Today, however, was not a normal day.

The previous afternoon, the small island had received visitors, a happening so rare that not even the eldest Lemurians could recall another such instance. The two travelers, a (slightly egotistical) man who called himself Lunpa with his friend, a (more reserved) man called Babi, arrived looking rather perplexed at the fat that they had actually come upon a legendary civilization.

Of course, Lunpa jumped right in with the natives, chatting with the indifferent citizens about everything from his family to random philosophical questions (Why doesn't the mist blow away with the wind? Is there even wind in this place?). Babi seemed a bit more personal, keeping to himself and simply walking around the city with an air of confidence that seemed to be that of a great leader.

While the adults were a bit wary of the new additions, the few children were curious about the arrivals, and had gone to the palace, hoping to get a glimpse of them coming out after they had talked with their Lord Hydros.

All of them, that is, save one.

It was a familiar sight to all Lemurians to see this boy, shoulder length blue-hair back in a ponytail with a few stray bangs falling in front of his golden eyes, run down the path from the house where he lived with his father, mother, and uncle early in the morning to the harbor where his father worked. His brown books clicked along the pebbled pathway as he ran, a pouch of herbs tied to his umber belt that kept his blue shorts up to his white shirt. His name was Picard.

It was also a familiar sight to see, at the docks themselves, a large, well-built man by the name of Leon with hair and eyes that greatly resembled Picard' tied back with a headdress (customary of their land to wear once a boy had come of age) working away at a ship, often with his young son, wife or in-law nearby. He had been working on this ship for more years than anyone had bothered to keep count of, but it was certainly well past one hundred.

It was an elegant ship, that in all its carvings, paintings, and presence, seemed to posses the wonder and elegance of Lemuria that was washed away with the loss of alchemy. That ship was Leon's pride and joy, for he had spent the majority of his life working on it planning and construction, and it was nearing completion. The ship was fully capable of sailing, as he had proved to the rest of the dumbstruck city. Leon smiled fondly at the memory.

Flashback

Ancient Lemuria greatly reminded the picnickers of their home, with the columns made of some ancient material, the statues of some unknown deity, and even a submerged fountain from which their drought was pulled from. It seemed so natural and untouched, though Picard (being the curious child that he was at the time) didn't allow it to stay that way for long.

The group was enjoying the meal they had packed in celebration of the boat being able to sail. Of course, it consisted of Leon's favorite dishes so that it could have doubled for reassurance should it have failed, but that fact needn't be recognized by the Lemurian. The ship had moved quite smoothly, powered by the black crystal Leon found that he was able to channel his psynergy through.

"Look daddy! Look at that!" a sudden yelp from Picard interrupted the adults' conversation. Leon stood up and rushed to his son, wondering what the inquisitive boy had found. He thought it would be a trivial thing that meant the entire world to a small child; a pretty rock, or a funny looking beetle. He certainly did not expect to find the boy holding a small, crab-like creature with a reddish, claw-like tail and luminous yellow orbs in his hands. It was odd-looking, but it certainly was not a beetle. The boy looked up at his father with his eerily similar eyes and asked the question Leon knew had to be coming,

"Can I keep it?"

Leon grimaced, sighed, and put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Son, don't you think he'd be happier here, with his family and friends?"

"Pardon" a small, squeaky voice piped up, "But my 'family and friends', as you say, are quite a distance from this place." Leon looked around searching for the source of the voice. Picard laughed and pushed the creature closer to him.

"He's talking dad. The little creature is talking." Needless to say, this was quite a strange encounter. His wife and brother-in law had abandoned their lunch in favor of the boys' discovery, and were quite puzzled as well. To their surprise, the blue animal made a sort of shuffled bow.

"Spring the Mercury Djinni at your service! In current need of finding Shade, though..." and with that, the Djinni now identified as Spring hopped out of Picards' hands and ran off into the overgrown grass.

The party, still a bit shocked, turned to leave when they were all drenched in a torrent of water. Following the water was Spring with an identical creature chasing it. The two continued to chase each other, creating spirals of water around the picnickers as they watched in shock and amazement.

Suddenly, the second one stopped and turned to look at Picard, now soaking wet. Spring squealed and ran to get the cloth they had laid out to eat on to dry the company off. Of course, it went unnoticed that she had, in the process, sacrificed the family's lunch to whatever insects happened to be creeping around the barren ghost town.

"See, Shade? Now look what you've done!"

The second Djinni, whom the party assumed to be Shade, glared at her upon being accused of the act.

"What I've done? You're the one who blasted me!"

"Well I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been hiding!"

"I wasn't hiding, you moron, it's called sleeping, maybe you should try it!"

"Well maybe YOU should try thinking before you spray!"

"…I'm going to be the mature responsible one now, and refrain from answering."

"Oh really? What's the matter? Is your brain just another of you weak and underused muscles?"

"!Why you…!"

"Ok, that-that's quite enough I think..." Leon started out. The Djinni turned to him and bowed in apology.

"Sorry, sir." Startled by their abrupt change in behavior, Leon had nothing more to say. Shade then proceeded to examine Picard.

"Say, kid, what's your name?" he questioned.

"Er, Picard..."

"You a Mercury adept?" Shade continued.

"Well, I suppose. But all Lemurians are, really...it's nothing special..."

"But you're gonna be reeeeeeeeeeeeal strong! Oooh! Can we stay with him Shade? Can we?" Spring was apparently very enthusiastic about the idea.

"Hold on a minute..." Picards' Uncle came in. "What do you mean, 'stay with him?'"

End Flashback

Leon chuckled. Any resistance had been futile and obsolete. The two Djinni were set on staying with Picard, and as the boy found no reason to object (he was quite exited about it, truthfully), the Djinni stayed with him.

They had learned later that when Lemuria sealed itself off from the rest of Weyward, the Djinni couldn't get through the misty barrier to Sol Sanctum (and the other Djinni) once alchemy was sealed off. They each claimed to have powers to heal and put up barriers, respectively Spring and Shade, but they could not prove it until the elemental stars were removed. Until then, they could float around and squirt water, and be a general annoyance to the public. Not that anyone cared in the least (Seeing as how Lemuria had plenty of water in it in the first place and a little excitement once n a while was a welcome change from the norm).

"Dad!" A voice interrupted Leon's pensive thoughts from the ships deck. "I have a question! Dad!"

"Hold on a second, Picard, let me get down first!" Leon climbed down from the crows nest and leaned down next to his son. "Now what's the problem?" Picard looked very concerned with his eyes wide and questioning, as though this were a life-threatening matter.

"Mom say's it's my birthday, but I can't remember. Is that bad dad? Is it bad that I don't remember my own birthday?" The boy slurred the words together as he hurried to get them out. Leon chuckled.

"Now, now, Picard, it's alright. Honestly, I don't think half of Lemuria could tell how old they were or when their birthday was." Leon's face changed to one of realization. "So it's your birthday today, eh? Better trust your mother with these things I suppose. Here, go throw these in the spring for a bit, a'right?" He said, handing his son a few golden coins. Picard gleefully took them and ran off towards the springs. Leon could see Shade and Spring behind him, making patterns as they flew happily behind him.

The Lemurian smiled and took out the orb that controlled his ship. It was made of a strange black crystal he found, and he doubted that he could find another one like it if he searched a hundred years. He had cut it in a way that the light reflected off of it and created designs on the floor as he turned it over in his hand. It reminded him of the days when he would leave the inner city of Lemuria so sail his boat in the area around the city and watch the patterns on the water out there.

He smiled at the memories, and then realized how much he had been looking back on what had been recently. He frowned. Surely that couldn't be an omen, could it?

_Perhaps not,_ a little voice in his head reasoned, _but your son running back in a hurry from the springs looking worried on his birthday likely is_. His head jerked up at that. My son?

"Dad! Dad!" Picard voice was anxious, sounding worried and frightened. Leon knew that this was indeed something to worry about.

"What is it? What's wrong, Picard?" He asked, trying to calm the boy as he ran off the ship onto the dock .  
The boy's voice sounded rushed for the second time that day, though this time his hands were trembling along with his voice. "It-it's Babi! He broke into the palace records and stole the blueprints for the springs. He took some of the drought, quite a bit actually, from the spring, and I-I think he's looking for a ship now, Dad!" Leon, while surprised, didn't doubt the boy. Lemurians weren't trusting of outsiders, so he had put his felling about Babi off as that, but he wouldn't put thievery past the man.

"Alright Picard, it's ok, I'll go check, alright?" Picard nodded and Leon moved towards the gate to Lemuria. He had a bad feeling about this, and that feeling was drawing him to the gate. He looked at the ground, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

One...

Two...

No, it's couldn't be right. He could clearly see Picards' frantic footsteps, but on top of them were more recent footprints. Ones with foreign tread markings, who also looked in a hurry. Leon's heart dropped to his stomach and stayed there as his eyes widened in realization.

They were Babi's footprints.

"Get of off me! Get OFF!" He heard his son's frantic yelps, accompanying thrashing sounds indicating that he was lashing out at his assailant. "GET OFF!"

"Picard?" His voice wavered, and he ran as fast as he could back towards the ship, praying that Picard had gotten too close to a crab. Yes, that was it. And those other footprints, they-they had to be his own. Perhaps he was so nervous upon checking, he had gone in a circle, and was looking at his own. That had to be it, he convinced himself. It had to be!

Still, he was not surprised when he came upon the harbor. Babi indeed was there, and he had Picard, his son in a deadlock, a dagger to the boy's throat. Shade and Spring were clearly trying to help, but possessed no psynergy to help, and their small forms had little impact on Babi's larger mass. Babi looked nervous, and kept glancing back at the gate, as if expecting all of Lemuria, armed with swords and daggers, to come rampaging through it at any second.

Leon would have laughed, had the situation not been so serious. The only thing Babi need worry about coming through the gate was Lord Hydros, or perhaps Conservato. Or worse, the both of them. Their arguments could be quite frightening to have to listen in on. But no, nothing came through the gate. It was just Leon, Babi, and Picard. Though it seemed that it would soon only be Leon and Babi.

"Give it to me." Babi commanded. Leon looked confused.

"What?"

"Give it to me!" Babi repeated. "The black crystal that powers this vessel!" Leon understood now. Babi had the plans for the springs; he had the drought, now he just needed the boat to get away with it all.

He fingered the crystal, and looked at it for a moment. He was about to throw away everything he had spent his whole life on. Was it-no. He shook his head violently. It was worth it. This was Picard, this was his son.

"Come now, you wouldn't want your dear son to have an encounter with my dagger, do you?"

"Dad-don't" Picard managed to choke out. Leon shook his head.

"No." Leon began, his voice sharper than before. Babi looked puzzled. "I have spent the last two hundred years or so working on this ship." He looked up at Babi's startled expression.

"I have also spent the last hundred years or so with my son." He looked at Picard, then up at his ship.

"However," he sighed, "Even if I spent the next two hundred thousand years working on this ship, it would still only be a ship." He feverently prayed that he wouldn't have to do this, that someone would come through the gate and help.

"But spending the next hundred years of my life without my son, knowing all the while that I could have helped him," The gate was still barren.

"That would not be living." No one did.

"It would be going through hell." He neared Babi and put his hand out containing the crystal, it's surface reflecting more graceful patterns that seemed to mock Leon's' decision to betray his ship.

Babi reached out and put a hand on the crystal. The scene paused, and then everything happened at once. Babi pushed Picard away, and in doing so slashed Leon in the chest, showering all three of them in the man's blood. Even afterwards, no one was sure if it was purposeful or accidental, but the damage was given.

Leon, from the shock of being cut, fell to the ground with Picard on top of him, the younger one clutching his throat and gasping for breath while looking horrified at what he had just witnessed.

At the same time, Lunpa closely followed by both Lord Hydros and a very angered Conservato. At the top of his lungs, Lunpa was shouting curses in several languages, all aimed at the man he once called 'friend'. Babi did a double take, looking at the father and son one last time before running aboard the ship and calling upon the little bit of psynergy he possessed, and steered the boat from the harbor with it.

Still yelling, Lunpa reached the dock first, panting, his throat horse from yelling and tears welling up in his eyes at the realization of what he had caused by bringing Babi to Lemuria. Once he realized that Picard and Leon were there, he gently pulled Picard off and desperately tried to calm the boy down. Hydros and Conservato began to examine Leon, but they were clearly too late to save the man. He was dead. Picard had seen it, and bore a renewed hate and general mistrust for outsiders.

The next day, Picard began to work on a ship.

100 years later

Hydros watched contently as Picard began loading his ship. Once Shade and Spring had suddenly gained psynergy, it was clear that the elemental stars had been removed. Someone was trying to fire the beacons, and Hydros had decided Picard would find out whom and help them.

Both Conservato and Lunpa questioned the king's decision (though Conservato was opposed to anyone trying to fire the beacons), as the young man held more mistrust for foreigners than any other Lemurian. Hydros held fast, however, and remained with his decision that Picard should go. Upon learning this, of course, Conservato began going no about how Picard could never be allowed to return, but Hydros paid him no mind.

Lunpa watched the young Lemurian pack his ship, marveling on the similarities between father and son. They both had the same air of calmness, it seemed, though not the same amount of luck. The boy had searched long and hard, but never could find any more of that mysterious crystal his father had fashioned an orb from, and had to settle with another, less appealing substitute that suited the purpose. Lunpa sighed.

"Oie, Picard! Come here, I want to give you something." He called to the (by Lemurian standards) young man. Upon being beckoned, Picard dropped the box he was carrying and jogged over to Lunpa.

"What is it sir?" he asked with little excitement in his voice, the two Djinni looking up at him with identical looks of apprehension. Lunpa smiled.

"First, close your eyes." And the boy did as he was told. Lunpa tied something around Picards' head. "You may open them...now."

Lunpa had tied to Picards' head the headdress that had belonged to his father. Generally, boys were only given them once they had come of age, but with Picard leaving and his return unknown, both Lunpa and Hydros agreed that it was an appropriate time to give it to him.

"This- this is"

"Your fathers'." Lunpa finished. "He would've wanted you to have it." Picard looked shocked, as Spring and Shade swirled around him, admiring the new accessory. Then suddenly, he gave Lunpa a hug.

"Thank you" he whispered before running off to finish his packing. Lunpa had a surprised expression on his own face at this point, but soon relaxed into a smile. Maybe Hydros was right.

Maybe Picard would trust others again after all.

End

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_Anyhow, the explanation. It was just sort of a 'what the-' thing that came upon me while I was playing TLA. Picard seemed rather hateful of Babi, talking about how he was not well liked in Lemuria and all, when the Lemurians themselves seemed rather indifferent to outsiders appearing. Later on, I was looking through my inventory of the original GS crew and noticed that they had a black crystal whereas you had a plain old orb. Added to that, no one mentioned really how Picards' father died, just that he was young when it happened. So, from that and my major hatred of Babi, this was born - how nice._

_Chapter Count-_

_Words-3360_

_Pages- 9_

_Review please!_


	2. Legends

_Warnings- None, really. Slight bit of lighthouseshipping (FelixSheba! Yay! -) towards the end, but it's just one line and you can skip it if you want._

_Whoa, gotta actually thank my little brother for this one. This time, he was playing Golden Sun and asked one of his many random questions; What's up with Yepp?_

…_of course, I had no idea what he was talking about at first…_

_Then I remembered Yepp. Does anyone else? The dead guy whose poem you use to get to Lemuria (in theory)? Well, Mark (the little bro) wanted to know how Yepp apparently knew how to get to Lemuria (hence, the rhyme), but none of the Lemurians seemed to know about him. _

_So, my mind comes up with some strange explanation. I scribble it down in my Health Class (blurg…), type it up at home, and give it a bit of depth. As far as I know, this is the first Yepp story on so I'll try not to kill him._

_Of course, that's difficult, since he was already dead when the game started…._

_I don't own Golden Sun. I guess Yepp's personality is mine, though…seeing as how he doesn't really have one in the game…_

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**The Smaller Picture**

**Legends**

_**Chapter II of -**_

It was a good day to sail.

That was, really, the only way Yepp knew how to describe a day like this, with the wind coursing through the air, cutting the water and making it ripple out into sailing-sized waves and the sun beating down until one of those puffy clouds covered it, giving the sun-baked inhabitants some relief from it's smiling face.

Yepps face was smiling, too, that day. He was taking a group of pearl divers out with him for a month-long excavation of the more central area of the great Eastern Sea. The group was a sizable one, as most everyone in Yallam seemed to have a passion for traveling. What with Garoh, the Werewolf town, a mere mountain's climb away, the Taopo swamp easily accessible by foot, and a new world of civilizations available if one had a boat, it was no surprise that the residents had all grown a liking for the activities.

"Oie! Yepp! Be us'ns leaving these here parts…err…anytime…soon?" Yepp chuckled. Sunshine, one of the younger members of the crew, seemed to posses the typical stereotype that anyone on a boat in the ocean was a pirate. Trying to keep true to the stereotypical speech, the boy found himself challenged with a barrier he could not seem to overcome.

But then, with how linguistically correct his mother was, it was likely for the best that he couldn't.

"Aye, Sunny" Yepp watched in amusement as the boy cringed at the nickname, "We'll be leaving soon. That is-" He turned to the pirate-to-be, "If you can answer me this question." Yepps face became deadly serious as he kneeled down to Sunshine's' level and looked the boy in the eye.

"If you try to fail, and end up succeeding, what the blazes did you just do?" Sunshine's face turned from worried to surprised, then to puzzle in a time frame of approximately half a second. Yepp was well-known for his confusing, often unanswerable questions and his lively children's songs. Sunshine twisted his face several different ways before Sunshine relieved him.

"Or, you could just start humming 'around the bend'. Sunshine sighed in relief before beginning to hum one of the tunes composed by the old boat master. A few seconds later, Yepp began singing in time with him.

As the old boat master began to sing along with the child, several of the villages' adults stopped to hear the ballad as well. Yepp was perhaps most well known in the village for his poems and songs, as they were immensely popular among the children.

As the final notes trilled away on the salted breeze, Yepp and Sunshine exchanged identical looks of glee as they began racing towards the ship they were to set sail on. This was a usual sight in Yallam, to see the brown-haired boatman who never really grew up running around the town with the kids who never wanted to.

As the pair exited the town, a gust of wind picked up, seeming to encourage the travelers onward to their vessel.

"Come on, Sunshine!" Yepp yelled to his young friend, "The wind is at your back now! You should be whooshing down this field!"

Sunshine laughed, "And how, pray tell Yepp, do I 'whoosh'?" To the child's amazement, his elder simply laughed again, and thrust his arms out behind him.

"Like this!" With that, the grown man picked up speed as another gust of wind picked up and began blowing with gusto. "Whooooooosh!"

A bit surprised, Sunshine paused for a moment with a blank look on his face. Then he broke out into a full-fledged grin and repeated Yepps' actions. "Whoooosh!"

The two continued their short journey in the same manor, talking with one another as though they were the closest of friends, in friendship and age.

The two friends, after alternating walking and running, reached the ship in about a half and hours' time. The crew was ready, with the smaller boats ready for exploring the more inaccessible regions of the sea, while everyone on deck seemed rather excited and ready to go.

Once the final preparations were concluded, they set sail.

The trip was peaceful and the crew got along fine (with the exception of a few minor quarrels). Yepp stood at the crow's nest, the closest to alone one could get on the vessel, humming to himself and reminiscing. Some of the town's apprentices had come along on the journey (this included Sunshine, as the blacksmiths aid), and kept the crew entertained with several of their favorite acts that came from the children behaving as the playful kids they were. The sounds of muffled laughter from the crew were nearly lost among the lightly lapping waves, and Yepp took a moment to ponder a part of the horizen that seemed wrapped in perpetual fog...

One Week Later

The smaller boats had all gone on their own courses once Yepp had given them a basic overview on how to hunt for the pearls. Now the large ship only had four passengers, the blacksmith, Yepp, and Sunshine among them. The fourth was one of the older passengers who had taken the post as cook on the ship.

They were currently headed towards the strange, misty area Sunshine had come upon in the crows nest that afternoon. Yepp, surprising the other passengers, had ordered a direct change of course. Yepp was usually one to stay in the open sea, where he felt safer from pirate attacks and the sort.

What they didn't know was a legend Yepp was a firm believer in.

'Could that area really be the lost island?' Yepp thought to himself.

Since he was a small child, he had been told stories by his father about the lost island of time, Lemuria. The idea that in island existed where the people lived for centuries on end was and exciting one, and Yepp had long wanted to find it. With a full two weeks before he was to reencounter the other members of the crew at Champa, Yepp decided he wanted to see if he could satisfy his childhood desires at the same time.

Two Days Later

They had finally reached the central focus of the mist. The ship sailed slowly between two identical red rocks, an imposing start to their venture.

The cook had retreated to the depths of the ship once the mist had started to thicken, claiming it was an unnatural sort that they had best steer clear of.

Sunshine was, while apprehensive, obviously nervous and still questioning Yepp's decision. He was spending his time down in the quarter's area with his master as they reviewed forging techniques.

Yepp began to hum again. The tune had been stuck in his mind as the journey progressed, and he became determined to put a song to it. He looked up at the stars in the sky, and several lines seemed to form from them.

"If you want to go to the stars…" He whispered, "If you want to go to the stars. Go north past the twins-" any other inspiration was put to waste as he found the ship being lurched foreword, then began to spin uncontrollably.

A whirlpool!

Using all his acquired knowledge of boatmanship, Yepp maneuvered the ship out of the whirlpool to find himself spinning into another. He pulled out of this one as well, and found himself in a calmer area with nothing but a volcano-like structure in the center. He was surrounded on three sides by whirlpools, on the fourth by an imposing current that he would be foolish to try to go against.

He began humming again.

"Passing two swirls…" to put it mildly.

Sunshine took this instant to run up to the deck.

"Sir? What's happened? The cook and master are unconscious, they were thrown back into the wall when we started spinning! What's going on? Where are we?" He continued in this frantic manner for a bit.

Yepp sighed, braced himself, and then gave Sunshine a quick chop to the neck, knocking the boy unconscious as well. He cringed with regret, then carried the boy down to the quarters and laid him on his bed before returning to the wheel.

He began cautiously exploring the area, in the process circling the 'volcano.' After he had gone around half the way, he noticed that it had begun to sparkle a bit. After completing two circuits, the current disappeared.

Something unnatural was taking place here.

Nevertheless, Yepp quickly maneuvered the large vessel past the danger area, least it came back. He resumed humming to himself, making up more phrases as he went along.

"Run diesel twice 'round the trunk…"

The current came back from behind him.

"Haste without waste,

And head to the east…"

Three Hours Later

Yepp sighed as he finally came to what appeared to be the end of the whirlpools. He looked around, taking in his surroundings.

Odd.

This seemed completely random, to have placed this purposeless open space here…

But Yepp shrugged it off and continued on.

After about half an hour of sailing northward, Yepp came upon a city, stranded in the ocean, seeming to glow with an unnatural light, looking for all the world like the sun of the ocean.

Lemuria.

Yepp was about to enter the docking harbor of the ancient city when a thought struck him that made him swerve to the right viciously.

Was it worth it?

Yepp couldn't count how many times he'd nearly give up hope on being successful at anything, then continued trudging on simply because of the hope that he might find this ancient civilization.

Was it worth it?

He decided it was not.

This was one of the few remaining legends Weyward had left to offer. Yepp didn't believe it to be his place to make it a reality. He snorted and frowned. But then again, these un-cultured children seemed to know nothing of any of the legends he grew up believing.

He began to hum again, and a thought struck him.

Maybe he should help the legend along, instead…

30 Years Later

"Well, that was rude of him!" a teenage blonde girl exclaimed.

"I know! It's like his best friend just died, and now he's taking it out on the weather!" A fiery-looking red-head agreed.

"Need I remind you, Jenna, of all the times you have gone and taken out your frustrations on innocent plants?" The blue-haired member of their group reprimanded. Jenna snorted.

"You don't need to, Picard, my brother does that enough!"

"That's a Venus adept for you, always worrying about the wildlife." The brown-haired member glared at the short blonde at this remark.

"She's kidding, Felix! Gezze. Although you do have to admit it, you are really protective about all those plants…" The mariner contemplated.

"And it gets really annoying really quickly, too. Right Picard, Sheba?" Picard merrily shrugged in response, while Sheba smiled.

"Awww, I think it's kind of cute!"

Felix blushed as Jenna and Picard began laughing at their leaders' current state of being.

"Hey! You guys wanna play a game with us?" A small child with orange hair looked up at the travelers.

Felix, now fully recovered, took charge again.

"Err…"

Well, sort of, anyway.

But then again, that was about all they could ever get out of their leader…

The Venusian turned to the rest of the group. Picard shrugged again, and Jenna nodded. Sheba solved any argument that may have broken out.

"Sure!"

With that, she grabbed Felix and Jenna by the arms and dragged them behind her, following the child to a pair of rocks placed at the beginning of what appeared to be a maze. Picard began to laugh again.

They began to play the 'game' with the children, involving running around the area, circling strategically placed stones and singing a rhyme that accompanied it.

_"If you want to go to the stars,_

_If you want to go to the stars._

_Go north past the twins,_

_Passing two swirls,_

_Run diesel twice 'round the trunk._

_Haste without waste,_

_And head to the east,_

_Past three to the north._

_There,_

_Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves._

_When they stop,_

_Run north and go to the stars._

_If you race full of folly_

_And take the wrong way,_

_You'll find yourself_

_A watery grave._

_If you want to go to the moon,_

_If you want to go to the moon._

_Face west from the stars_

_And run straight past three swirls,_

_Then circle 'round twice._

_Haste without waste,_

_And head to the south,_

_Then one swirl west._

_There,_

_Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves._

_When they stop,_

_Run south and go for the moon._

_If you race full of folly_

_And take the wrong way,_

_You'll find yourself_

_A watery grave_

_If you want to go to the sun,_

_If you want to go to the sun._

_Face south from the moon_

_And run straight through two swirls,_

_Then circle 'round twice._

_Haste without waste,_

_And head to the west,_

_Then six to the north._

_There,_

_Run 'round trice and wait for the waves._

_When they stop,_

_Run north and go for the sun._

_If you race full of folly_

_And take the wrong way,_

_You'll find yourself_

_A watery grave."_

Once they had all finished by tapping a large, sun-shaped stone in the upper-left corner of the area, Felix looked a bit puzzled. Jenna knew why.

"Hey, Picard? Doesn't it seem like this Yepp guy knew a lot about Lemuria?" Sheba nodded, remembering in all-to-great detail the whirlpool 'adventures' on their way to get Picard home again.

Picard looked a bit confused as well.

"Yes, it does seem a bit peculiar…" the Lemurian began, "…But I can assure you, no one has visited Lemuria since Babi and Lunpa…" He looked around. Sheba turned to the rest of the group.

"It seems Lemuria is a pretty well-known legend around here. Should we tell them it exists?" Picard shook his head and smiled.

"Nah," his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit in the light,

"Some legends are better told as just that. Legends."

End


	3. Silencing the Screams PtI

Wow, it's been a while since I updated….and this chapter's been written for over a year now. Wow, that's sad. I'm willing to bet that no one reading this now read it in any previous forms, so I won't bother noting any changes I've made.

Explination- In their respective games, Isaac and Felix never speak. This is not counting Isaacs' proclamation of '!' and Felix's 'Why?' and his lines at the end (as both of which are accounted for in his portion). I took it upon myself to create a mini-series as to why.

_**Silencing the Screams- Part I of II**_

**Isaac**

"Isaac, Wake up!"

I mumbled into my pillow something incoherent, similar enough to 'five more minutes'. I think I did, at least. I don't remember much of that night.

"Please, dear, wake up!"

Wouldn't she ever stop? I wanted to sleep right now...

"The Mt. Aleph Boulder! It's going to fall!"

That got me up.

"Wha...?" I recall groggily responding to the urgent alarm.

"Come on, Isaac, we have to go now!" Mom pulled on the sheets I'd gotten tangled in to get me out of bed, and I took the time to register that it was still really dark out. Strange. Mom turned to walk out of the room and I, sleepy as I was, fell into step behind her.

Using her ever-present motherly sixth sense, she turned around and gave me one of those 'Now look what you've done!' glares mothers so famous for.

"Isaac! You've forgotten something!" I blinked. What could I have missed that I would need at night in the cold and rain...?

"It's pouring outside! You need your tunic!"

...oh, right.

Mom used her 'Catch' psynergy to go grab my tunic off the wall. It was then that I realized something was really wrong here.

Mom rarely used her psynergy, preferring to do her chores by manual labor. If she would rather use catch then take a few seconds to walk across the room, we were definitely in trouble.

With these thoughts passing through my mind, I followed mom silently across my room. After all, (by my fathers' indisputable logic) if no one wants to hear it, you'd better not be caught saying it. And what could I possibly say at a time like this?

I vaguely remember nodding my head, though I don't know what mom had asked me. Or if anything had been asked. Perhaps I was going through a temporary lapse of sanity. I've forgotten so much of that night already.

We came down the stairs, almost tripping on the table in the kitchen as the wind blew our candle out. Dad ushered us outside, but I couldn't hear what he was saying in all the noise of the storm. I felt a vague note of some emotion bordering being upset. I put it off as nothing.

As we left the house, the noise only grew louder. I could see my parents were forced to yell to get their words across, but I could only make out a few individual syllables, and none of them made any sense when I put them together. When mom asked me if I could get to the plaza on my own, I just nodded. She ran off with dad, I guess to help evacuate or something.

As I began my southward trek down to the plaza, a boulder fell onto my path. I panicked upon realizing I couldn't move it. After regaining some of my sanity lost from lack of sleep, boulders and the storm, I ran north to take the roundabout rout.

I could barely see through all the rain falling.

That frightened me.

The only reason I knew which way to go was that I'd taken the rout hundreds of times before. But it still seemed almost unfamiliar tonight.

Soon I came upon Garret. The dolt was trying to save his stuff. To this day, I don't know what valuables he kept in that chest, I'm just glad he didn't try to lug them around Weyward. After a minor bit of convincing, he followed me, abandoning his chest to the downpour or rain and rocks.

We continued on for a bit, and had just crossed the northern bridge when a deafening noise reached our ears. The two of us turned around, instinctively bracing for an attack.

That surprised me.

I'd never been attacked by a monster or anything.

And neither had Garret.

So where did that instinct come from?

But that didn't matter right then.

What mattered was the source of the noise.

The boulder had fallen.

We stood, shell-struck as the priests' assistants and a few of the villagers held it at bay with their dwindling psynergy. One of them was calling to us, but again I could not hear. It was rather easy to tell he was telling us to keep going, though.

But looking up at them, watching the fluorescent psynergy rings slowly get smaller, and less frequent as the light surrounding their users dimmed in the storm, the danger became real.

If we didn't run, we were going to die.

So, without my normal methodical thinking beforehand, I ran.

I was stopped by another boulder, I think, because I took another round-about way of getting to where I needed to be.

Garret was following behind me, and only managed to catch up once I had stopped. But I hadn't stopped because I had reached the plaza.

I had found a dead man.

I didn't know him well, but he was a friend of my parents. Everyone in Vale was a friend of everyone's parents.

And he was dead.

His chest slashed open; I just couldn't bring my eyes to tear away from the lifeless form. And it was even more real.

People could die.

People had died.

And we had to run,

Or we'd be among them...

So we ran. Or, at least, we tried to.

We were attacked on the way.

This surprised me, too.

I had never seen a monster, never fought one, never killed one, but when I faced that monster, I somehow knew what to do.

Being faster than Garret, I got the first swipe at it. It was unprepared for resistance, so I cut it straight down the middle. It bled.

It was real.

I was frozen, even for a few seconds after Garret attacked the vermin and felled it. But for some reason, it didn't lie down and die.

It just...

...faded away...

I was scared. They were not real. Not really. They didn't bleed to death. It didn't really die. If they didn't really die, the weren't really scared. But I was.

It scared me.

I was scared.

So I ran.

I continued running, aware but unresponsive towards the dull ache in my muscles.

If we didn't run, we would die.

The boulder is falling.

People can die.

People are dying.

The monsters are real.

The monsters aren't like us.

I was scared.

I ran.

I stopped when the first sound I had heard since my mother woke me reached my ears.  
_  
"FELIX! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

It was Jenna.

Her shrill voice cut through the air, fueled by fear and desperation. Garret caught up to me, but neither of us could see. We hadn't been able to the whole time.

The gods must have decided to play some cruel joke on us, for the rain lightened.

Just a bit.

Just enough for us to see.

Felix had fallen into the river, and no one could reach him.

My friend could die.

Mom came up to us, asking for our help. Before she had finished her thought, I was off to the plaza to help Jenna. To save Felix.

Garret was still behind me, yelling something again. But I still couldn't hear. I wondered if it was just me.

I reached the plaza. Everyone there seemed confused and scared. Like I did.

This fact didn't reassure me in the least.

But they were also talking.

They could hear each other.

The storm blocked them out from my world.

Why?

I didn't have time to ponder that question, as I had come upon Garrets' grandfather and Jenna. They talked, I couldn't hear. A man came down from the town's psynergy crystal. Though I still couldn't hear them, I understood the message.

Take him, and go help Felix.

We all ran.

We got to the bridge, and I realized that, along with Jenna's parent's trying to reach Felix, my father was there.

That scared me, too.

The rest of them began running down the stairs, but I stayed for a second.

I didn't want to go down them.

But I didn't know why.

Jenna was down there, Felix was down there, mom was down there, Garret was down there, and Dad was down there.

That last one scared me most.

All I knew was that, as soon as I went down those stairs, something bad would happen. But I went down anyway.

Then I remembered.

The boulder was falling.

A crashing sound that rose above the storm reached my ears. Correction: The boulder had fallen.

It appeared over the top of the waterfall. That's it. It just appeared. And it fell down the waterfall.

And just before it his the dock,

I screamed.

I screamed in fear

I screamed in pain

I screamed in sorrow

I screamed

Knowing somehow

That no matter how much I kept screaming, I would be screaming forever.

I blinked.

Then they were gone.

I

Was

Scared.

Scared that one of my closest friends was dead.

Scared that Jenna would grow up without her family.

Scared that I'd never be able to hear again after this.

Scared that I'd never stop being scared.

Scared that I'd never see dad.

I was scared.

So I ran.

I heard voices.

I stopped.

They scared me.

Like death

Like the boulder

Like the deafness

Like the night

Garret called to me.

That's funny.

I can hear him now.

The voices appear over me, and I looked up.

They were monsters.

They had to be, with their ears like that, that coloring, and those weapons.

Sharp weapons.

_A flash in my mind, and I could see my machete, coated in thick vermin blood._

Weapons that could cut.

_A flash entered my mind, the dead man with his chest all slashed up._

They jumped down from above us.  
_  
A flash entered my mind, the boulder hovering for a fraction of a second before plummeting._

They landed, and they glared. A different, more saddened glare than the one I had encountered earlier...

_Another flash, the vermin ready to kill._

I was scared.

I attacked.

With that instinct I didn't know I had.

I cut his arm, he was surprised.

Like I had been so many times...

_Another flash, and the smaller boulder had just crashed in front of me, barely missing my nose._

And he bleed.

Like the monster did.  
_  
Flash, and the blue creature was now sporting a fine red line that seemed to be swelling..._

Like the man did.

_Flash, and the man was staring upwards, his lifeless eyes seeming to beg for someone to pull him out from the mud puddle in which he lay. The mud puddle now sporting thick red tendrils of the mans' blood..._

Like I did.

Like I did a second later, when she caught me we the blunt end of her scythe, the keen edge just nicking my shoulder and drawing blood.

The two strangers looked at each other, and held a hurried conversation that I could not hear.

A flash, my parents yelling to one another among the roaring storm.

I fell into darkness.

A final flash as I screamed in pain.

_The darkness of the night when mom woke me up._  
**  
The Next Day**

Garret and I woke up today, and everyone has been concerned.

Why were we unconscious? Did we see the boulder fall? Had there been any sign of the four on the dock?

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

Last night, when words were needed most, I could do nothing but scream.

I can never stop those screams.

All I can do is silence them.


	4. Silencing the Screams PtII

At least this one came up sooner…. If possible, this one has more angst than the last one.

By the way, even if you DID, by chance read this one before, the ending sequence overwent a major overhaul, adding in a bit more FelixxSheba interaction. I definently like this ending better.

WARNING- There IS implied Lighthouseshipping this chapter, as well as the Proxians in a positive relation. If you don't like FelixSheba, I respect your opinion. If you're really close-minded and despise the Proxians, too bad.

* * *

** Silencing the Screams Pt II of II**

_**Felix **_

Everything seemed to be crashing down around us.

Of course, the lighthouse was really rather stable, and likely not to just topple over at any given time, but what with a battle of such epic proportions as this one, we could never be to sure.

We being Sheba and I. Saturos and Menardi had just fused, yelling at me to take Sheba back to the ship, as they didn't think they'd be able to control their transformed state. All previous stress-induced arguments forgotten, I simply nodded, grabbed Sheba and ran. We had opted not to take the elevator, as the beacon was still rising and preventing it from properly functioning.

So here we are now, running down the tanned halls of my element. The light has been kindled, and I could feel it rising up slowly from the ground as I continued down to meet it. Sheba, with her heightened agility, was always about five steps ahead of me as we ran down the corridors, with myself panting to keep up and trying not lose sight of her.

I could not help but wonder what was happening above us. Saturos and Menardi were undeniably the strongest fighters in Prox, but Isaac and his friends had already proved to be stronger than any of us ever imagined they'd be. What if they lost? What could we do, Jenna, Alex, Sheba and I? I may have had the Jupiter Star, but what of the funds to get us there? The ship?

And how could I ever live with myself, knowing that I may have caused them to fall?

That last one made my eyes sting a bit, but my face quickly hardened to the emotionless mask I had become fond of using in Isaac's presence. It was better if they didn't know what was going on. I knew I was already banned from Vale forever, having forgone the teachings, there was no changing that. I made a loophole myself for Jenna, preventing her from the knowledge that we were actually working to save Weyward, not just our parents.

Our parents. What would become of them? I know the Elder and Puelle wouldn't harm any of them should my foster parents' fail, but what of the others? There were a few residents who were reasonably quite passionate about this whole mission. How would they react to knowing their fighters had failed and placed their fate in the hands of a Venus adept they adopted into their culture, his fiery-headed sister, a healer who used his calming, reassuring aura to manipulate others, and a child who supposedly fell from the sky?

I began to reprimand myself for even thinking that way. For the love of Prox, why had I even gone back up the lighthouse? All it did was hold Saturos and Menardi back. Why, if I hadn't, they'd have lit the beacon and be done by now!

A scream brought me out of my reverie, and I snapped back to attention fast enough to knock aside a goblin that was about to attack. Sheba looked at me and gave a relieved smile.

Oh, yeah.

Sheba.

She was the reason I had gone back up. Perhaps I'm more in tune with my element than I had previously believed, but I didn't think the lighthouse would react so well to it's lighting, and I didn't want Sheba there to find out if I was right.

A tile fell from the ceiling nearly hitting the god-child in front of me.

Then again, I didn't think it would be this negative, either.

Suddenly, Sheba stopped. I couldn't stop myself and narrowly avoided crashing into the fourteen-year-old. I turned around to see a dazed face on the girl. As I was about to question her, it suddenly transfigured into a shocked one. She bolted back up the stairs at nearly twice the speed she had been going before. After a second's hesitation, I followed.

"Sheba!" I cried out, trying to get her to slow down a bit. She didn't hear me, and another tile fell, coating the room in dust and debris.

"Sheba!" I called again. I heard a second scream. I searched for the source, trying to discriminate it from the cracking and rumbling of the lighthouse. A third scream.

"SHEBA!" I sprinted this time, and managed to catch up fast enough to knock away another goblin seconds before it released an attack. Sheba nodded gratefully, and was about to sprint up the stairs before I grabbed her shoulder.

"Why are you running back?" I was about to ask her.

I meant to ask her.

But the words wouldn't come out. Sheba understood, though, and answered my un-asked question.

"It-it's Saturos and Menardi…" I was about to chide her, telling her that there was nothing to worry about, when I noticed something peculiar in her word choice.

Saturos and Menardi…

Unaccustomed to using such foreign names, Sheba had early on given the pair nicknames. 'Satty' and 'Menny'. Though childish in a way, they soon picked up popularity between Sheba and Jenna. If Sheba was using their real names, she was being serious.

So instead I just nodded and followed her, thankfully at a slower pace this time. My throat was still sore from yelling amidst the debris, giving it a scratchy sort of coated feel. I opted not to talk. Fortunately, Sheba could mind read all my questions without transfer of sound, and similarly commute her answers.

We reached the top aerie again just in time to hear a gut-wrenching howl of pain. It was an odd sound, though, as though it were made by two creatures with the same voice. I froze, and I could feel Sheba do the same a step behind me. I cautiously walked within viewing range of the aerie's plateau. From there, I witnessed the blood-crested, mangled bodies of my friends collapse into the gapping hole meant for the star.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came from my throat. It was still sore, apparently.

Garret, despite being thick-headed and ignorant much of the time, chose to be observant that day. As his gaze swept across the aerie, I landed on Sheba and I. Instinctively, I took a step closer towards the wind adept.

"You-you beat them, Isaac?" The words seemed to be pulled from my throat. He simply nodded. He had never spoken in my presence since this whole ordeal began. He was quite the chatterbox before…

After a brief, painful discussion, I felt I had made myself clear to Isaac and his companions. I began walking towards the now-functioning elevator, trying to keep my emotionless mask up. It was only through a heck of a lot of concentration that my face was kept from betraying the ongoing mantra in my head.

They're dead they're really dead Saturos and Menardi are gone and I couldn't do anything about it and they're gone and I'll never see them again and Karst will be sad and maybe even Agatio will admit it and I've failed Prox no I've already been cast away from Vale I won't lose another home oh but they're gone they're gone and they're never coming back-

And suddenly, the lighthouse began to shake more violently that it had before. With an earth-shaking, echoing crash, it seemed that even the Gods were vengeful against those who dared fire the Venus beacon.

And perhaps they had been, for the Child of the Gods had fallen off.

"SHEBA!" I cried for the umpteenth time that day, my throat constricting in pain from the loss of two of my friends and the desperate yelling.

Regaining my footing, I feel onto my knees, putting my hand out, hoping to catch hold of Sheba's hand, hoping I could pull her up, hoping I could save her from the mess I had brought her into.

"Sheba!" I cried, trying to hold back the tears of both stress and sorrow that threatened to overwhelm me at the thought of losing another person close to me, "Take my hand, please!" I pleaded, my words only pulling themselves from my throat out of desperation.

"No, Felix," She began, sounding awfully depressed as well, "I-I can't," She continued, her voice pained, "I can't! Don't worry about me! Stop leaning foreword, you can't reach me! Stop it! We'll both fall!" She was on the brink of tears by now, and yelling with a hint of hysteria in her voice. I suppose anyone would, given these circumstances.

"No, Sheba…" I croaked, my voice hurting even more. I wasn't sure if she could even hear me this time, with the growing winds around us as the beacon's light swirled into it's magnificent, almost mocking existence as two corpses continued falling down the pit until they reach the bottom and-

I managed to cut myself off there. Sheba must have heard me, though, as the smiled weakly and replied, "I-I'm sorry Felix. And…" I held my breath as her small, but roughened fingers slipped further from my reach.

"…Thank you…"

And she fell.

"NO! SHEBA!" I cried, instantly, ignoring the blood I could now feel in my throat. "I-I won't…let you DIE!"

And with that, I jumped.

I couldn't help but notice that my throat was now inflamed, and some of the blood was leaking from my mouth. But that didn't matter now. I was going to die, anyways.

But it would be worth it.

Just as long as I could reach her first.

Just as long as I could take the fall for her, and save one life today.

Just as long…

The Next Day

The lighthouse incident seems like it happened so long ago. It doesn't seem like, just yesterday, two of my closest friends lost their lives, and a third almost did as well.

As the others rested in Dalia, I slipped away to find the Great Healer in the town's Sanctum. I had been unable to speak since the lighthouse episode (causing some embarrassment upon awaking to Jenna teasing me about saving Sheba), and blood was still coming from my throat.

After motioning to the healer that I could not speak, he and his assistants examined my throat for any injuries.

They found one.

A splinter of some unrecognizable, ancient material (from the lighthouse, I surmised) had make a large cut in my throat. Using their psynergy, they were able to heal the cut. The pain and damage were made, however, and they told me it would be near a year until I'd be able to talk fluently again.

After getting back to the inn, I was immediately jumped upon by my sister and the diminuitive Jupiter adept. Finding myself unable to answer their questions, I simply took Shebas' hand and put it to my forehead. Taking the hint, she did a mind read. Looking saddened and a bit shell-shocked, she explained my 'condition' to Jenna. As Jenna hurried off to tell Kraden, Sheba turned back to me.

"I-I'm sorry…"

_Don't be. _I thought. Moving her hand from my forehead to my back, she hugged me tightly. Not knowing what else to do, I simply hugged back.

"Darn it, Felix…" she started, her words muffled by the cape she'd buried her head in, "I can't even stay mad at myself when you look at me like that." I laughed silently at that.

"At least-" she began, pulling back, "I have an excuse to hug you now. After all, you're the leader now, so you're gonna have plenty to say!"

_You don't need to touch people to mind read them._ I chided again. _You're stronger than that._ She smiled.

"But they don't know that."

A year or so of this?

Fine with me.


End file.
